Apparatus for the manufacture of fancy knitted fabrics on circularknitting frames



May 1-5, 1928.

RA APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FANCY KNITTED FABRICS 0N CIRCULARKNITTING FRAMES Filed April 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fl l Fe/ 9 Fig.2

I I 5 II Fl l m I 9 F? f h gnuewloz GJUSEPPBMGRA May 15, 1928. 1,670,208

G. NIGRA APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FANCY KNITTED FABRICS 0NCIRCULAR KNITTING FRAMES Filed April 6, 1926 -2 SheetS -Sheet 2 v 61115512 5 ZV'JGRA Patented May 15, 1928.

UNITED STATES i 1,670,208 PATENT, OFFICE.

GIUSEIPPE mean, or TURIN, ITALY, ASSIGNOR, To 0. M. I. M. OFFICINAmomma;

INnUsTn A MAGLIERIA, or TUBIN, ITALY, A COMPANY.

APPARATUS Eon. THE IvIANUFAcTi RE 01* FANCY KNITTED FABRIC on uncomm-KNITTING FRAMES. 1

Application filed liprll 6, 1926, Serial No. 100,136, and in Italy April1,0, 1925.

This invention relates to the manufacture and will each time it is movedcause the reof two colour knitted fabrics upon circular knittingframesand has for its object means for manufacturing knitted goods of variabledesigns either by merely periodically reversing two' threads ofdifferent colour to obtain vertical stripes, or to obtain variedpatterns, such as rhornbic, square or likefigures means may also beprovided for instantaneously reversing the threads.

The apparatus operates in the following manner: I

Two threads of different colours exchange positions (-i. e. arereversed) at predetermined intervals with respect to the needle wherebythe stitches of the respective colours are visible sometimes on the faceand sometimes on the back of the fabric, thus forming a pattern of onecolour upon the foundation of another colour.

The apparatus comprises an arrangement for reversing two threads ofdifferent col-- ours upon the needle and another arrangement for varyingaccording to the pattern desired the moment in which the reversingarrangement comes into action.

The invention is .illustrated in the ac companying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is an end elevation'of the operating disk and a plan view ofthe reversing levers, Figure 2 is a side view of the reversing leversand a plan view of a portion. of the operating disk. igure 3 is a sideelevation partly in section of the controlling means mounted on a shaftradial with respect to the frame.

The reversal arrangementcomprises two hook levers 1 and 2 guiding thedifferently coloured threads I, and f and a third lever arm 3. tively atI, II and III, on a suitably shaped stirrup 4, suitably fixed to theframe. The "ear end of lever 1 is pivoted to the lever 2 at 5, and tothe lever 2 at the pivotal point 5, the arm 6 of the lever 3 is pivoted.The lever 3 acts on arm 6 of lever 3, which car ries at the end of itsarm a roller 7. The lever 3, when acted on, forces levers 1 and 2reciprocally to exchange their positions;

and for this purpose roller 7, under the action of a spring notillustrated) enters into or comes out of notches 8 suitably dis--tributed over a rotating disk 9 or the like.

On the rotation of disk 9 roller 7 will suecessively engage and come outof notches 8 The three levers are pivoted respeevercal of threads f, andf, so alternately causing oneto appear on the face and the other at theback of the fabric.

Referring to Figure 3, 9 is a disk similar to disk 9 in Figures 1 and 2,suitably mounted upon a shaft 10 upon which is keyed a toothed wheel 11placed in rotation by the rotating plate of the frame, for example,through a rack 12 fixed thereto. The

shaft 10 is supported, for example, by a stirrup 13 carried by a plate14 fixed to the frame, in any convenient manner. As illustrated 15 isone of the needles, 16 one of the smkers and 17 a means for anchoringthe needles upon 'the rotating plate, although this of course forms nopart of this invention.

Disk 9 isby toothed wheel 11' rotated at a constant speed with the frameand it will easily be seen that roller 7 on engaging and passing out ofnotches 8 on the disk will cause levers 1 and 2 to be givencorresponding periodic reversal; the colour of the threads will also bereversed, having for effeet to form alternating vertical stripes on thefabric.

' 'If other patterns are desired it will be necessary to effect thereversal of the thread at predetermined differing intervals and not atperiodic constant intervals. According to this invention this isobtained by giving to the disk 9 additional partial rotations whether inthe same direction of rotation or in the contrary direction of rotation,i. e..

giving an advance or a lag to the period at which roller 7 will engageor come out of the notches on the disk.

For this purpose the disk 9 is mounted in the following manner:

Upon the shaft 10 there is provided a loose drum 18 having a flange towhich disk 9 is secured. Drum 18 is fast with a worm wheel 19 in meshwith a worm 20. Worm 20 is carried by a disk 21 fast with the shaft 10and itself receives rotary movement through a pair of bevel wheels22,23, carried by disk 21. Upon the spindle of bevel wheel 23 is keyed aratchet wheel 24 having large teeth in which can engage a spring pressedrod 25 guided in a dashpot 26 and actuated by any control member at asuitable time, for example, by lever arm 27 whose other arm is moved inthe direction of the 1 arrow by a flexible transmission controlled byany regulating apparatus or counter not illustrated.-

When the regulating apparatus is inoperative and the rod 25 is out ofengagement 1 with the ratchet wheel 24, as shown in" the 2 of Figure 1'will be periodically reversed in position and thus the threads.

When, however, .rod is brought into action and engages between two teethon colours of the ,ratjchet 24, then owing to the movement of rotationgiven to ratchet 24 by the disk 21 around the shaft 10, it is forced tomake a partial rotation upon'its own axis; this rotation is transmittedthrough bevel wheels 23 and 22 to worm 20, worm wheel 19 to drum 18 andto risk 9, imparting to this an additional movement of rotation.

Notches 8 on disk 9 will thus come opposite the roller 7 at positionsrelatively different from that which took place in the procedure beforedescribed and each will produce its effect with a displacement of theside at which the colour stripe appears with respect to the effectproduced by the same groove during a previous rotation or seriesofrotations. The colour stripe, or the reversal of the two threads, isfor this reason suitably displaced, and by combining in differentmanners the-relations of the pinions and of the couple, worm and wormwheel with the apparatus controlling the lockin rod, most variedpatterns maybe obtaine In the method of carrying out the inventionillustrated, to impart a positive or negative additional rotation of thedisk 9 rod 25 is'caused either to engage between the teeth on thetoothed Wheel above (as indicated in the drawing) or below the axis ofrotation of the toothed wheel 24 so that it willefi'ect a relativerotation to the right. or to the left around its own axis.

It will be easily seen. that the'arrangement for giving an additionalrotation to disk 9, as well as the lock members varying the moment atwhich it is brou ht into 0 eration, may be different from t e forms 11-lustrated without departing from the scope of the invention. It

What I claim as my invention is:

, 1. In a circular hosier knitting machine, the combination of a pair ofthread guides situated in different planes, means operated by a notcheddisk for acting on said thread guides, a rotated shaft on which the diskis loosely mounted, a worm wheel fast with the disk, a worm in mesh withthe worm wheel, a disk fast with the shaft and carr ing the worm, andmeans for periodical y rotating said worm on its own axis.

2. In a circular hosiery knitting machine, the combination of a air ofthread guides situated in different p anes, means operated by a notcheddisk for acting on said thread guides, a rotated shaft on which the diskis loosely mounted, a worm wheel fast with the disk, a worm in mesh withthe worm wheel, a disk fast with the shaft and carrying the worm, a pairof toothed wheels in mesh with each other, one of said wheels being fastwith the worm, and means for causing said other toothed wheelperiodically to be rotated about its own axis.

3. In a circular hosiery knitting machine,

the combination of a pair of,thread guides situated in different planes,means operated by a notched disk for acting on said thread guides, arotated shaft on which the disk 1s loosely mounted, a worm wheel fastwith the disk, a worm in mesh with the Worm wheel, a disk fast with theshaft and carrying the worm, a mesh with each 0t er, one of said wheelsbeing fast with the worm, a ratchet fast with the other said toothedwheel, a plunger, and means for moving said plunger into the path of thesaid toothed wheel. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to thisspecification.

i GIUSEPPE NIG-RA.

air of toothed wheels in

